A nurse at Dowen College, Lagos identified as Kafayat Usman, says she had no physical contact with the late student Sylvester Oromoni who was allegedly assaulted.
According to NAN, Kafayat testified before an Ikeja coroner’s court unravelling the circumstances surrounding the death of the student.
The nurse, who joined Dowen College on September 4, 2021, as a full-time nurse, refused to swear by the Quran before testifying. She said that she was menstruating.
Kafayat is the second nurse from Dowen College to testify at the inquest.
The witness told the court that she worked from Monday to Friday.
While responding to questions from Mikhail Kadiri, the coroner, the nurse said she did not come in contact with the deceased in the course of her work.
“I did not know him and I had no physical contact with him. I have never attended to him. I work as a full-time nurse at Dowen College but I am a day nurse,” she said.
“I work from 8.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. from Monday to Friday. I do not work on weekends.”
The coroner asked: “It would be wrong if suggested by anybody that you massaged and attended to the deceased in any way whatsoever?”
The witness replied in the affirmative.
During cross-examination by Andrew Efole, counsel to the Oromoni’s family, the witness said she was not aware that the deceased was treated sometime in April 2021.
She also told the court that the school’s sickbay was not open on weekends.
“Since you do not work on weekends, who takes care of sick students on weekends?” Efole asked.
The nurse replied: “The sickbay is not opened on weekends. I became aware of the deceased’s case on Nov. 30, 2021, at the school premises.
“Dr. Bisiriyu and I both resume and close at the same time. We both work from Monday to Friday. I am not aware if she is a doctor in any American Hospital.”
The witness said she did not make any statement to the police when she became aware of the death of the student.
The coroner adjourned proceedings until April 5 for the continuation of the hearing.
The Oromoni family had alleged that the 12-year-old student died from injuries sustained in an attack by five senior students of Dowen College for refusing to join a cult.
It was also alleged that he was forced to drink a chemical substance by his attackers.
Advice by the Lagos state DPP released on January 4, however, disputed the allegations.
It stated that an autopsy revealed the cause of the student’s death as acute bacterial pneumonia due to severe sepsis.
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